The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: Jul 25, 2019

Episode Date: July 25, 2019

 Colin says the Clippers are joining "high expectations" club for the first time in franchise history.  He thinks the Browns decades of losing could hurt them whenever they have to deal with adversity in 2019.  He thinks people should finally acknowledge he was right about Cam Newton being overrated.  Plus, former NFL RB Rashad Jennings comes in studio to talk about Melvin Gordon, Zeke and why culture matters so much in the NFL   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of, Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines

ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports. Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching

herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Thursday NFL camps opening everywhere. This is the herd. Live in Los Angeles, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks so much for making us part of your day today as Joy Taylor is joining me. now I can feel it.

Now the grass I can start to smell it. Now we're in football season. Now we got camps, Joy. And I just found out this morning that Joy Taylor's brothers are 6-6 and 6-4. What happened? I don't have an explanation for it. I think maybe my mother didn't give me any of the milk growing up. There's no explanation for it.

I'm 5'2. I am the run of my family. But you were a great athlete. Yes, yes. Just didn't get the height. Really? Where's Joy? She's at the table.

She's over. down there. It's great to have you in today. So congratulations to the Los Angeles Clippers. Congratulations to the L.A. Clippers. It was really fun in Los Angeles yesterday. For the first time, the L.A. Clippers joined a new club. It's called the High Expectation Club. They've never been in that before. Here's Steve Bulmer yesterday. He was all worked up. He's the owner. I'm just fired up to be here today. It's pretty cool. I'm pumped. You say hello as Clippers to Paul and Kauai.

Come on. Come on. Some ball games this year. We're going to win some ball games. Okay, first of all, it was very fun. It was great. Everybody in Los Angeles, except Die Hard Laker fans, everybody's happy for the Clippers. They've been so beaten up over the years.

It's a great day for them. And I'm happy for them. I love living in this city. It makes me very happy. And they earn Kauai. They didn't deserve Kauai. They earned him. All right.

They earned Paul George. They worked their tail off on this. But, but, but, but, but, but here's the downside. Clippers, no more losing in the second round. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not acceptable anymore. No, no, no. You're no longer the feel-good team of the NBA.

You have to be the really good team in the NBA. Las Vegas says you're the best NBA team. a Western conference finals appearance will not do, my friends. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You have Kauai and Paul George, the number one and number two efficiency players in the league, the best two-way players. By the way, here's what's interesting. If it doesn't work out, if it doesn't work out as you sell this two L.A. guys coming back to L.A., are we going to hammer on them?

Because we all hammer on LeBron when he changes teams. and you keep telling me, Kauai Leonard's the best player in the NBA now. And so you always bang on LeBron. If he goes to a team and doesn't win a title, you banged on him in Miami first year, you banged on him in the Lakers first year, you bang on him.

By the way, Kauai's better than LeBron. You've been telling me that now for a year. He's better. Okay, never forget this. Last year was warm and fuzzy. Last year, they were underdogs. I've worked at companies that are big and very, favored and I've worked at this company that's young, growing, fledgling.

It's way more fun. It's light and breezy to be an underdog. It's heavy to be a favorite. The Yankees are favorites. The Lakers historically are favorites. The Steelers every year are favorites. Now the Clippers, your favorites. And it changes everything.

The Jacksonville Jaguars could not handle it, even with all that talent. Got to the AFC championship next year, favorites, Super Bowl, 5 and 11. Boston Celtics, by the way. Gordon Hayward's now healthy. Jason Tatum's getting better. Kyrie is healthy. It didn't work.

Couldn't handle it. Celtics were young and plucky. Eastern Conference finals. It feels light and breezy. You bring in a couple stars now. Second round won't do. It's been fun forever, but don't kid yourself. Taylor Swift has more banners in the Staples Center than the Clippers.

Okay, that's their history. No expectations. The statues outside staples are all Lakers or L.A. Kings. There's no clippers. The clippers rent the Lakers building. They're the stepbrother. They're the fun brother. But now you're the big dogs.

And by the way, could it unravel? Absolutely. Paul George, shoulder surgery. What if he misses the first 22 games? It's going to take another 30 to at least get it ready. Kauai wants 15 to 18 games off. Paul George isn't healthy. Lou Williams says, I'm 33.

I'm the leading score last year. Can I have nine games off? Last year, Doc Rivers called him the blacktop team. Playing in the driveway. And no longer, now you're on the interstate and you're supposed to lead the pack. So this is a whole different ballgame. I think they're going to be really good. I think they should be NBA favorites.

but remember when Nick Foles turned down opportunities, the Philadelphia Eagle backup quarterback? He turned down opportunities to be a starter. And do you know why he did that? Because it felt different. He liked being the backup to Carson Wentz. There was no pressure.

Nick Foles comes in, very coachable. I'm not the franchise guy, no pressure on me. And he played great in the Super Bowl. Now he goes to Jacksonville, makes $25 million a year, is the franchise quarterback, and they need wins now in a division with Deshawn Watson and Andrew Luck and a Tennessee team that was 9 and 7 last three years. Now there's a lot of pressure on Nick Foles.

So I want to see how it turns out. I'm happy for him, but the Clippers have joined a new club. It's called the Expectations Club. A lot of pressure. It's going to be heavy. It has a chance to derail. Paul George's shoulder is not ready for regular season. Kauai wants 22 games off.

You have stars now. The chemistry in the building is going to change. Can't wait to watch it. Can't wait to watch it. But you're in a new club. No more second round playoff exits. All right, NFL camp start today. Freddie Kitchens, I'm starting to like this guy.

He's the guy that got the Cleveland Browns coaching job. He's got a little southern twang to him. I kind of like him. He's a good old boy. And he talks like a football coach should. And he was talking about all the expectations. And so here's Freddie Kitchens. I want everybody to understand this.

Our goal here with the Cleveland Browns, as long as I'm here, will always be to win the Super Bowl. All right? Now, that's the last time I'm going to say that. Just know and make it a given that that's what I believe to my core is to win the Super Bowl. Now, you don't do that by talking about it, and you don't do that by outside expectations. You do that by putting the expectations on how you prepare on a day-in and day-out basis. Here's what's really interesting.

the Clippers, the Cubs, and the Cleveland Browns have losing stigmas. But even as the Clippers have this brand of losers for the last 25 years, the Clippers have made the playoffs six of the last seven years. The Clippers at one point had five straight 51 seasons. So even though the Clippers brand is losers, they won a lot. By the way, the Cubs, lovable losers. Before they won the World Series, they got to the NLCS, and they had made the playoffs eight years earlier. Remember the Lou Penella teams?

They were pretty good. Browns are different. The Browns are hideous, and they've been hideous forever. Last year was their big year. They went 7-8-1, were blown out four times, and were one-and-five against playoff teams. The Cleveland Browns have won 11 games in four years. This is different. years ago, this is 20 years ago, I used to have a friend in Las Vegas.

I'm not sure what happened. We were casual friends. And he had a really tough life. His dad was in and out of work. And we had a discussion one time, a very vulnerable discussion. And he talked about when his dad would, even during the good times, you always had this thing in the back of your head. Are we going to have to move again? Because that's the life.

That was his reality, moving around. dad losing jobs. Even when you have a team as good as Cleveland and a roster is good, the minute there's a fissure, the minute there's a loss. Oh my God, back-to-back losses, the first thing you think of is this is our reality. We've got to move again. New England's the opposite.

Trail at halftime of the Super Bowl? Oh, we've been here before. We come back and win these. Atlanta Super Bowl, Seattle Super Bowl Throw a pick six in the Super Bowl Okay, Tom's done that before, we win these. Have a really bad Monday Night football game against the Chiefs Get blown out by 30.

Oh yeah, we ended up, that happened a few years ago. We came back and won the Super Bowl. In New England, it works the opposite. You know, for the kid that is raised in a stable winning environment, every time there's a little fissure, oh, parents figured this out. We've been here forever. You grow up in a tough, chaotic environment, even the good times.

It's always back there. Are we going to have to move again? Cleveland hasn't just been bad. The Cubs and the Clippers had losing stigmas and losing histories. But the Clippers have won a lot in the last 10 years. The Cubs have won a lot of games in the last decade. Cleveland hasn't. When losing is your history,

Here we go again is what happens in a locker room during a two-game losing streak. That's what happens. The Steelers have lived in this world of great, maybe not win the Super Bowl great, but excellent, win the division, win big games, stumble, little drama, overcome it. Because they know Roonies, Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, Big Ben, Terry Bradshaw. The Steelers always figured out real quick. get right back up. Little drama, Antonio Brown, get it out of the building. We're right back up. Cleveland, even as they're winning last year, go look at what happened after a couple of their biggest wins. They followed up with a nothing burger. So it's going to be fascinating. I saw a story yesterday where one of the Cleveland Browns came in,

Richard Higgins, wearing a photo posted on his Instagram account this week. Road to the Super Bowl into existence. They got Super Bowl talk. They got high expectations. They have newfound pressure. The question will be with the Browns when they have a two-game losing streak. What happens the following week? Because when you grow up in chaos, here we go again is just a fumble away. Good stuff. Cannot wait.

I bet you Cleveland, I don't know what the attendance is today. We should make a prediction. I bet you the Cleveland Browns camp sets an all-time record. I would not be shocked if the Cleveland Browns have the most fans at their camp of any camp in the NFL. So as much as you think I hate the Cleveland Browns, when you can take the worst team in your league and they can become fascinating, oh, that is good for the NFL. I mean, let's not kid yourself. This whole NBA free agency thing, there were some boring teams. They're going to be really interesting.

For the Clippers now to have those kind of players, that is great for the NBA. Lakers always have players, right? Spurs are always pretty good. You know, Celtics always, you know, they're for the Milwaukee's and the clippers, when the Cleveland Browns can get Baker, Mayfield, no BJ, and you go to an NFL season, that was like, turn the television set off for about 20 years.

So I can't wait to see the camp video of the Cleveland Browns. I bet it's absurd. I love that you did the old school turning of the channel. Click, click, click. So many kids out there watching, have no idea I had it. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. man, he running up the court, licking his fingers

why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yesterday, Rodney Harrison was all worked out.

Rodney Harrison, NBC Sports, Sunday night football, former Patriot, great, great player, borderline Hall of Fame guy, a very, very, very good football player. And he was talking about Patriots not making the Hall of Fame. and he's kind of worked up about it. He goes, you know, people don't think we have ballers. I'm like, Thai law is the best defensive back I ever played with.

Richard Seymour, William McGinnis, Tony Brown, Kevin Falk. Those dudes were bad, bad dudes. They weren't just system guys. All I hear is Tom and Bill. It's such a lazy analysis of the New England Dynasty. So, first of all, there's only been, dynasties don't have as many Hall of Fame players as you think, outside of the Pittsburgh Steelers back in the 70s.

That's the first dynasty I grew up with. That's when I first started watching TV. They had like nine guys. They had both receivers. Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, the running back, Lynn Swan, John Solworth, the center Mike Webster, Mean Joe Green, two linebackers, Jack Hamm, Jack Lambert, Mel Blunt. The secondary was their weakness, and it had a Hall of Famer. They were loaded, but you didn't have a salary cap.

You could keep guys forever. You didn't have mobility. In the modern era, you can't afford nine Hall of Fame players. Let's go look at the dynasty. The Dallas Cowboys Dynasty is about 20 years ago. Barry Allen, Michael Irvin, Troy Ait Smith, Deion, Sanders, and Charles Haley. And Haley, half of that career was in San Francisco. Now, they had a bunch of good players.

Darren Woodson's close. They had a bunch of good players. But they had about six Hall of Fame guys. Let's go to the San Francisco 49ers dynasty. That's even further back, right? You had Charles Haley, again, split that with Dallas, Fred Dean, Jerry Rice, two quarterbacks, Joe Montana, Steve, Young, and Ronnie Lott. You had a bunch of good players like Roger Craig and Randy Cross.

You have a bunch of good players. And then if you look at the New England dynasty, well, what do you know? It's kind of about the same thing about six guys. Tileaw, Tom Brady, Adam Venetary, he'll make it. Vince Wilfork will make it. Gruncowski will make it.

I'd vote in Logan Mankins. And they've had a bunch of good players, but New England lets go of really good players. Richard Seymour would be a Hall of Famer, but they let him go. And Chandler Jones could have been a Hall of Famer with four more Pro Bowls in New England. And they let him go.

And they let Wes Welker go. and they let Randy Moss go. And I don't count Randy Moss. He'll be a Viking. So that's the culture that has enabled you to be a dynasty. You move off players really, really fast. And with a salary cap. There's not as many football players that make the Hall of Fame.

And here's the truth about all these dynasties. They only have two things in common. They have a great coach and a great quarterback. That's it. After that, everything is less important. Joe Montana, Steve Young, Bill Walsh. Terry Bradshaw, Chuck, Chuck. No. Jimmy Johnson, Troy Aikman.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick. Now, you can have a Hall of Fame coach and quarterback and not win Super Bowls. Dan Fouts and Don Corrielle, Marv Levy and Jim Kelly. Even when you have it, it's hard. I mean, Drew Brees and Sean Payton have won. Russ Wilson, Russell, Wilson, Pete Carroll, have one. So the reality with dynasties in the NFL, because of mobility and salary caps,

you've got generally the only two things you have to have is a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame quarterback. After that, most stuff is replaceable. There are two teams in the league right now, two franchises in the NFL. If you told me have a chance to be a dynasty, and what I mean by a dynasty, Joy, would be next 12 years, they both get to four Super Bowls

and win a couple of them. And you kind of feel like a decade. You're kind of a, and you're in the NFC or AFC championship. The two that jump out to me are Kansas City, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. If you told me in the next 12 years, they go to four Super Bowls and win two and get to the AFC championship another two years, I'd be like, all right. Yeah, Brady retired. I get it.

And the other one would be the L.A. Rams, Sean McVey and Jared Gough. Now, golf to me has always been a more talented version of Matt Ryan. and everybody keeps telling me and I agree. Matt Ryan's about the eighth or ninth best quarterback in the league. Jared Goff and Sean McVeigh, if you told me in the next 12 years, they get to four more Super Bowls win a couple. I'd be like, oh, yeah, I can see that happening. Aaron Rogers getting older.

Aaron's now 35. Pete Carroll retires in a couple years. But these dynasties, man, this is why when you own an NFL team, you've got to get the coach right, and then the coach and the GM, they've got to get the quarterback right. Because dynasties, look at New England, look at Dallas, look at the 49ers. You don't have as many Hall of Famers as you think you would. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

So yesterday it was, it was Marty Groff of the Clippers. Very exciting time. Steve Bulbers yelling and screaming. And the Clippers have Kauai and Paul George. And it is still a Laker Town. It is still a Laker Town. And I want to tell you something, and you don't want to hear this, it is still a town where the best basketball player in the world plays for the Lakers. It's LeBron James.

Kauai Leonard is a very good basketball player. He can't handle the ball like LeBron. He doesn't pass nearly as good as LeBron. He doesn't rebound as good as LeBron. LeBron's got more MVP's. LeBron's got more finals MVP. In fact, one of the MVP's Kauai got in the finals was because he guarded LeBron and held him to like 35 points per game.

something like that. The reality is the best brand and the best player are still Lakers, and that's LeBron James. The Lakers will be fascinating win or lose. The Clippers will only be fascinating if they win. If Paul George's shoulder surgery

goes sideways, he has to miss 25 games, takes him another 25 to get the chemistry down. If Kauai wants to sit for 20 games, maybe cuts it down to 12 to 15, they won't be as interesting. I do think the climbors chemistry looks like on paper with Doc and Lou and Kauai and Paul looks like the better team Vegas agrees.

But it is a Laker town, as I said earlier, Taylor Swift has more banners in that arena than the Clippers do. The statues are the Lakers. The Lakers own it. The Clippers rent it. That's why the Clippers want their own arena. And if they win a title this year, they'll probably get it. But there have been Clipper rumors going back to Seattle for years.

There's no Laker rumors going up to Minneapolis. So now, now, that's okay. Paul George and Kauai Leonard talked about this yesterday. That's okay. They're good with that. As far as the last few years, as far as a basketball standpoint, the clippers have been better. It's media, you know what I mean? They're going to get the attention.

They've been winning championships for a long time. But like I was saying, it's just a media aspect. Even if we do win, you know, who knows how the coverage will change. over and I don't feel like I'm focused on that if we go to the championship and win and we're not getting no coverage that's fine with me I'm good Lakers is Lakers we got our own identity we chasing something else we're not looking at the battle of L.A. You know we got bigger things in mind and bigger goals to accomplish other than the shadow and like none of that really means anything you know they they got to come out perform the same way we got to come out and perform. I think for us, at the end of the day, we want to be holding that trophy.

And that's all that matters. We'll build our legacy and we'll build our Clipper Nation up along the way. So I think it's great. And I think it's actually interesting that the Lakers landed the two stars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and the Clippers landed the two guys who play both ways, Kauai and Paul. The only thing more perfect would be if Clay Thompson would play for the Clippers. You'd have the three best two-way players, all play defense. They're also one and two in the league in efficiency, points per touch.

So in a weird way, the Clippers actually landed guys that are perfect for their brand, which is the Black Talk team. We're playing in the driveway. We play hard, head down, low profile. The highest profile Clipper until, you know, a couple of weeks ago was Doc Rivers. He was the star in the room. That's the autograph. You know, so I think it all works out fine.

but it is a Laker town. LeBron and A.D. will be interesting, perhaps more so if they flame out. If the Clippers flame out, people will just say, that's the Clippers. If the Lakers flame out, we got Frank Vogel in trouble, LeBron's legacy in trouble, AD's overrated, Laker ownership's getting ripped,

Rob Polenka's in trouble, magic's laughing on Twitter. It'll be a reality show. And LeBron, for the record, is a walking reality show. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hart Radio app. heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. So I know from time to time, Joy probably hears it all the time from her friends that Colin

is picking on blank. Colin is picking on John Wall, Westbrook. For years and years, it was Tebow. For about a year it was Johnny Mansell, Carmelow Anthony, anybody that works on my staff, you probably go out and if you ever tell people I work with Colin, man, what does he have a problem with Westbrook. And he doesn't like John Wall. He doesn't, for Tebow, for about two years, I was like, I don't buy it. I would like to acknowledge, though, and Cam Newton is the latest guy, quote, I don't like. So I want to give you a list of people that I didn't buy that you did.

Blake Griffin, Tim Tebow, Johnny Mansell, Westbrook Mello, John Wall, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton. At one point, you were telling me they were MVP's, fantastic, Superbrose, quarterback, going to run the league. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. They're talented. But they're not, they're not that guy. So Cam Newton is the latest

where any time I criticize him, why don't you like him? Well, well, well, it looks like now people beyond me, just because I'm ahead of the curve, doesn't mean I'm wrong. If Westbrook did have four titles, if Cam had three Super Bowls, or

was as consistent as Breeze or Russell Wilson. You could call me out. But when I'm right on all these, at some point, I'm just ahead of everybody. So I was ahead of you on Westbrook. I was ahead of you on Eric Rose. I was ahead of you on Tebow.

I was ahead of you on Manzel. I'm ahead of you now on Andy Dalton and I'm ahead of you on Cam Newton. The NFL.com is releasing their top 100 players list. And Cam Newton is 87 behind Darius Slay of the Lions, behind Kirk Cousins by 10 spots, behind Leighton Van der Wesch, a linebacker from Boise who just arrived in the league 40 minutes ago. NFL.com is just late to the party.

By the way, earlier this week, 55 executives and GMs around the league voted on quarterbacks. Cam Newton was voted a Tier 3 quarterback, talented, but really needs a lot around him to win. For the record, the last three years with Cam Newton, 65 touchdowns, 43 picks, 59.8 completion percentage, 83 passer rating, 23 wins, 21 losses. That is with stability in the coaching staff. That is with, on average, over the last three years, better than average O lines with real running games, Christian McCaffrey,

with a Hall of Fame, in my opinion, Greg Olson, tied end, although he's hurt from time to time. You're not a hater if you're right. You're just early on the criticism. I never bought Mello. I never bought Tebow. I never bought Mansell. I never bought Andy Dalton.

I never bought Derek Rose. I never bought Westbrook. And I never bought Cam. And now the NFL and executives and people who have been in the league and vote are siding with. me. Now, Jason Whitlock does not want to hear my opinion. But I start every football season with the belief that Cam is capable of duplicating this 2015 MVP season. I pretty much start every year believing he will return to MVP for him.

Why? Because Cam Newton has a genuine competitive fire on the same level as Drew Brees and Tom Brady. The game is important to Cam. Being. great as important to Cam. The 30-year-old quarterback is just walking into his prime years. I believe Cam's best playing days are still all in front of him and not behind. I always wondered if Jason Whitluck was crazy. This morning, he officially is. Cam Newton is Ben Rothesborder, not as good.

He came into this league, bizarrely, uniquely sized. Both had a little off-field baggage, Cam and Cocker. college, Big Ben, first couple years in the league. Both are transfixing athletes, uniquely large, often throw the ball moving better than the pocket, capable of unbelievable, unbelievable individual displays, and both have been hit so much over time. They're not quite where they were. They don't like getting hit as much. Have now struggled with precision and accuracy as the league moves into a precision accuracy league. That's why little Drew Breeze without a big arm can succeed to the level he succeeds over

the last five years. And Big Ben and Cam, very similar players, Ben is better, have struggled over the last five years. I'm not anti-cam. I think I'm early Cam. NFL.com and now 55 execs and on an anonymous poll now both agree with me. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd. in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.

Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context,

and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army Stewart of the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boke.

On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. By the way, our next guest, Rashad Jennings, is fascinating. And I think the most fascinating part of you is post football.

So you are a very good running back in the NFL, Jags, Raiders, Giants. People in New York remember you. And so then you get out of football and you have charity. And then you write a book called The If in Life. And it's a New York Times bestseller. Wildly, I've seen it at airports. So then you'd think that'd be enough. And you'd go on your way, being a former player, play golf.

Yeah, former players do. And then, because you're just sitting around your house, you write a lot. Right, every night. You write every night before I go to bed. You have come out. This is how, like, people get famous. You then decide, I want to create a book series for children. And the book is called Arcade and the Triple T token.

Okay. So this is the first of four books. Now, Arcade is the name of the kid. Tell the story. Yeah, so Arcade Livingston. Arcade is so growing up, I think everybody kind of. kind of has a alias name or name they wish their parents would have named them. Yes.

Mons was Arcade. You wish your parents would have named you Arcade? Yes, Arcade is the coolest name to me. So I gave it to this kid. And he's a 12-year-old kid. He's unpretentious. He's very quirky. He's a gullible loving kid, right?

But he always finds himself in mischievous trouble. Not in the trouble that's going to put him in jail, but just like, get out of here. You always ask him 50,000 questions. And that was me. And so through this, you know, he comes. comes across his beautiful golden token and it's called the triple T token, right? Comes across his token and he

finds out what is built for and what is made for. You ever seen the movie Click? Adam's Allen. No. He can pause life. He can fast forward. He can rewind it. So this is what movie? It's a what movie? The movie where he has a remote for life. Yeah, yeah. And so basically what this token does

is it allows him to go back in history, go fast forward in the future, go actually learn and be very inquisitive of finding out the wise to all of his questions. He finds out why people bully people. He goes back in the history of pyramids. So these are in, this is an inspiring series as well.

Absolutely. By the way, very much. I still contend that almost all little boys are quirky. My son's quirky. I was quirky. But when I was allowed to be quirky, now if you're quirky, you get labeled. Everybody wants to put medication in your life. Yeah. Little boys are quirky. Listen, and I tell people all the time with the whole

medication, and I'm big in philanthropic areas, but mainly through education system. Right. And I always tell people, if you judge a fish by how well it can climb a tree, it's going to think it's stupid.

Right. And we're not all designed. No question. For the education system in its totality. So through this, it motivates kids too, also, to let them inspire and embrace their creativity,

but also understand the school is a necessity and is brilliant and is a big part of success. Great senior, Richard Jennings, who also won Dancing with the Stars. All right, so you know the New York Giants, and I have said this. I always kind of felt like they were IBM for years. They were this big company.

They had a vision. They knew who they were, and they didn't really care about what you thought of them. That's what good companies do, Patriots. This is what we do, San Antonio Spurs. We don't care what your opinion is. This is how we do our overseas recruiting. New England. We let go of guys that you think are great before their prime.

That's their business. But the Giants, to me, have gotten very reactionary in the last four years. They care what the media thinks. They don't want to get bad press for sitting Eli Manning. And I think they've eroded as a franchise, not just as a football team. I don't trust them in their front office. I don't trust their coaching. So now they have a situation where they have Eli Manning and they draft this new guy at number six, Daniel Jones.

Well, if you draft him at number six and you don't let him compete for the job, did you reach? Are you afraid of what the pushback will be? shouldn't Daniel Jones be allowed to compete for the starting job? Yeah, well, I think he is. What really makes you think that he's not competing? There was a story two days ago where Pat Schumer said, well, Eli will start week one. And I thought, well, six weeks ago, you said they could compete.

Right. So I believe, obviously, like you said, they wanted to keep down the noise of the media, right? If there's any adage that there's competition, what the media is going to do, single day. In New York, just have that camera in front of teammates. Who do you think should be the starter? They're going to be talking to Daniel Jones. Hey, do you think you're on the way to start? They're going to ask, Eli, what do you think about every single day? And every time there's a

great pass or a bad pass, they're going to start evaluating. This is who should be started. And that's not the noise they want in New York. There's competition. You can guarantee you that. It's competition. They don't want to come out and say that. But they're obviously evaluating their young guy. But one thing I will say, I mean, you don't want to put that kind of pressure on him either. I was in Jacksonville in 2011 when Blaine Gobry got drafted. Yes. He was a rookie. He was 21 years old. He was picked 10th or 11th overall. I can't remember. And David Garraud was a starting quarterback, right? And they let go. They fired David Garraud Sunday. That Sunday before the Monday we got ready for week one. David was our guy. He was the man.

He bawled out all camp too. And by the way, David had a nice, solid, career. At the end, he was a nice player. Yeah, he was good. And took him to the playoffs every day. He was good. And then the next year, they let him go. They fired him. Blaine came in. Young, ready to start, right?

We paid him. His first round, he has to play. And you see the results of putting that kind of pressure on a young kid that's not ready yet. I think this is a great opportunity for him to come in, compete, and also learn from one of the grades. We have a situation now in the NFL. And this happened in the NBA with analytics. Analytics came out and said centers in the NBA, unless they're unbelievable, move off them, draft guards and wings. It's a three-point shooting league.

Analytics can be cruel. It was cruel to big guys in the NBA. Yeah. Yeah. So analytics now in football are increasingly saying, unless a guy's Zeke, don't sign a running back to a second contract. Just don't do it. I think Melvin Gordon's really good, but he's been injured. all their backs last year,

averaged over four yards of carry. If you didn't sign Melvin Gordon, who's a good dude, could it hurt the locker room? I think you could hurt the locker room very much. So, I mean, when you have a guy, here's the thing about being in the locker room, you know personnel, you know your teammates.

You know which teammates are good guys. You know which ones aren't. Who's grinding, who's not? You very much know that. And you know what the organization, preaches of what they want. And so when you see a guy exude everything that you say

you want in an athlete, everything you say you want in a player, and you don't pay him, that is a message that, hey, we ain't going to pay nobody. We're doing whatever we want and you don't have to buy in. You lose a locker room if you don't stay accountable to what you say. This is really a good point because I

know they moved up to draft him. And the Chargers don't move up to draft run. I know their GM yesterday. Know what he said? He goes, we love him. Now, we also know the reality. We got a bunch of good players. See, I think Rashad, I think you sign him,

you front load the contract because he's been dinged up a little bit. And so if he gets dinged up in year three of the deal, you're protected for the cap hit. I think there's the chance you could lose some guys in the locker room if you don't sign him. I mean, what, in the last couple years, I think he has some statistics where he scored 28 touchdowns. in the last three years, rushing touchdowns,

and only player, only runner back able to do that or higher was one, which is girly. And then in the last three years, he's had, what, 12 touchdowns. Oh, no, 12 touchdowns from the line of scrimmage every year. Like, his numbers are crazy. He's been balling in the last couple of years, and I think you should pay him. He's holding out right now.

I think the deal would be done. I don't think we're going to see a Leveon Bell situation. He wants to play ball. But again, when you see a guy holding out during training camp, when you have the leverage to do that, Aaron Donald's done it twice. Yeah, do it. Why? Because you're not getting taxed on your body during training camp. That is huge.

That's the other thing is that even if you just go back with the same contract, at least you didn't get beat up during camp. Right. Major. That's going to add years to your career. People don't understand camp as a mother. Listen, I just did high school football. football camp. I hated that. NFL camp. Like Aaron Donald last two years has held out. Everybody still loves

him. Aaron's like, what am I blocking against rookies from Tulsa? I don't want body shots on me. That's why, by the way, that's why Aaron Donald is great come December and January. All right. Finally, with Rashad Jennings. So yesterday, LeVar Arrington said this. There's a difference between football teams and franchises. He said,

Patriots are a franchise. Eagles are a franchise. He goes, yeah, Jacksonville, it's a football team. And he said, it's a big difference. Cleveland historically is not the Steelers. Have you been on a football team that won games, but it didn't feel the same as winning games with the Giants who are a legendary franchise?

Well, sadly, to answer the question is no, because I play in Jacksonville, it was bad. I played in Oakland when it was bad. So I wasn't winning too many games. But what's the difference between the Giants' culture and the Raiders and the Jags? Because Cleveland's culture is bad. Yeah, so the difference in the cultures is the expectations

of winning Super Bowls versus the expectations to simply compete in playoffs. Like when I was in a New York locker room, for the first time, I heard chasing Super Bowls. It's like, where are they talking about Super Bowls here? when I was in Jacksonville, it was show up and compete.

When I was in Oakland that year, it was we're going to show up and compete. When I was in New York, it was talking about getting a ring. Different franchise. Hold you accountable. Holds everybody accountable. And also the front office, too, is different. I mean, people walk around smiling for no reason. They're happy.

They can talk about winning. Like, it's a cool thing. You're not worried about your job as much getting fired every single day. it's a beautiful thing when the franchise is winning. And I got a chance to see a different culture when I was playing in New York, and I loved it. All right, the book is called The Coinslot Chronicles, Arcade and the Triple T token.

So right before you go to bed, you just grab, get on the keyboard, and you go for an hour, 90 minutes every night. So writing to me is like a muscle, right? And I feel you have to exercise it in order to strengthen it. So what I do just to strengthen my ability to write is I pick one word every single night before I go to sleep, and I write about that word, and I have a new relationship to how I use it and how I hear it, right?

Well, who taught you that? I'm just, I'm an inquisitive guy, man. Like, I'm a quirky kid. Like, and I'm never going to change that. That's always been in my DNA. If you're around me long enough, and you haven't had some type of inspiration, the shame on me.

That's just the type of person I am. And so I write every single night for a guy. go to sleep just to build the exercise of it. And then through how I live my life, I see everything is very poetic, right? And I see a story every single day. I could take this whole situation in this interview and put it in a book and have it creatively spoken. I'm a wizard. You're a sorcerer and you're a writer. We can talk about this, right? And we explore. Like, it's a cool thing, the ability to write. And that's what I encourage kids to do. It really helped me. And the reason I focused on it because I had to read a comprehensive deficit growing up.

I had a 0.6 GPA growing up. And, you know, felt every English class known to mankind. I passed every Spanish class, but I can't speak Spanish and I speak English fluent, but I felt it. I don't get it. But either way, I'm a living witness that, you know, one, dreams still come true. And you can be an athlete, but have so many pillars about you and be successful in other areas. By the way, you played with O'Dell Beckham for a year. Yeah, three.

Actually, he came in when I came in. Yeah. So let me ask you. He can be dramatic. He's pretty authentic. Yeah. How do you think the Cleveland thing works? We know football will be fine.

Right. How about the personality stuff there? Yeah. So with the personality stuff, I think it's going to be good, honestly. You got, you got, you got, you got, you got somebody who is arguably probably the most, one of the most talented receivers ever to play the game. He has one, he has a best friend. that he played in college football.

Jarvis Landry. I trained with Jarvis, right? I actually just played a celebrity basketball game with Jarvis. We had a conversation just talking about because when we were used to train in Florida with each other, we used to talk about how them two, how awesome it would be if they ever linked up in the league. We just said it, right?

I never thinking that was. He was in Miami. Odell's in New York. And sure enough, they're linking up. So we was just talking about, you remember when we had that conversation, how amazing it would be for you two as brothers, coming back in the league, chasing a dream in college, unlikely grinding.

People don't understand y'all's two relationships. And then y'all get to silence the noise of the universe and do something amazing. Like, that's what we get a chance to set back and watch. I, again, talking about poetically, I could really write a movie about this. Yeah. This is an awesome opportunity. But I think him wanted Odell getting a chance to mature and wanting to prove some things is going to help him. in his career.

And I do understand how the media can take things out of proportion. And I get how what he says can be taken out of proportion. But when you know him on a personal level, I get the intent behind everything that he's saying. Great seeing you again. Rashad Jennings, the book is called Arcade and the Triple T token. Right there. First of four, inspirational smart stuff. I'm going to start that riding thing.

Yeah, come on. I should. Start. You know, they're hard. I was exhausted. I haven't written sense. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me. Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Look, quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021.

And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. With the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.